The Other Side of Nothing
by Nobody13Xlll
Summary: With New York in flames, Ventus missing, the Council of Light's sudden appearance, and the mysterious XΙΙΙ now at large, Terra is forced into a whle other world he never imagined, with dire consequences. Sequel to Friends on the other Side
1. Prologue

**Hey everybody, I'm back! Hope you enjoy! Disclaimer, I don't own Kingdom Hearts yet**

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_March 15, 2012_

_The city of New York is in a state of disarray as the storm of the century approaches, with officials telling citizens to either prepare for the worst, or evacuate the city entirely. Chaos ensued, with people scrambling to get out of town, with several injuries, muggings, and shootings occurring before the police finally managed to gain control, convincing people to stop panicking and go back to their homes and brace themselves for the upcoming storm. The mayor made an announcement telling people that everything would be alright, explaining that immediate response outfits were already in the city, helping inhabitants secure there households and prepare for the upcoming storm. _

_March 18, 2012_

_The storm has ceased, but the chaos that started with the storm, has yet to unravel. Incredible damage was done to the city during the storm, and several homes were ruined, but the most pressing matter, is what thousands of citizens are now claiming to be a 'terrorist' attack. Near the end of the storm, several videos were taken of violent explosions aimed at specific buildings, missiles, and military squads fighting, all of which are now out on the Internet. The government has denied that there was any terrorist actions during the storm, but when asked about the enormous explosion that occurred several miles off the coast that singlehandedly wiped out a good portion of southern Manhattan, and several other smaller cities, they were unable to say that a simple storm had caused this._

_May 20, 2012_

_Just after its latest disaster back in March, a new threat has seemingly arrived in New York. Several unearthly creatures with black bodies and yellow eyes have appeared, infecting citizens and transforming them into the creatures, causing panic and fear. Rage filled the city when the island of Manhattan where the creatures are currently residing, was quarantined, leaving thousands of people stranded behind the barricade. Reason for this was not explained by the government, but by a society that stepped forward, the Council of Light. According to this council, the creatures are called 'Heartless' and while they were unwilling to part with many details, they revealed that they were highly dangerous, but had existed since the beginning of time, and that the Council had been fighting them since there creation, and that they felt confident that they would be able to free the city from danger._

_May 30, 2012_

_The Council of Light has lived up to its promise, bringing peace to the citizens of Manhattan, fighting off Heartless hordes and saving more and more lives by the day. At the current rate, numbers show that the Heartless will be eliminated by early June, and that we can start rebuilding again. Members of the Council of Light, such as Master Eraqus, and his apprentices, Aqua and Kairi, have become modest heroes of the city, single handedly saving over 175 lives each, and eliminating hundreds of Heartless. All we can say to them for this service now, is thank you._

_June 20, 2012_

_Confusion and fear are once again in the air, as the Council of Light pulls back from Manhattan, bloody and bruised. New creatures they have been unable to identify, silver creatures with strange zippers, weapons, and abilities, have suddenly appeared, and there alien power seemingly overcoming the Council of Light's forces. On top of this, while scouting today, a helicopter spotted a strange figure in a black cloak and hood, with weapons similar to those used by the Council of Light, who promptly jumped off a ten story building, and hit the ground running. When the Council was asked who this figure was, they became tight lipped, although apprentice Kairi was heard commenting on how the figure was supposed to be dead, and how it couldn't be good that he survived. _

_June 25, 2012_

_Outrage is strong today as the government and Council of Light came forward and revealed that the government had indeed lied in March, and that the devastating explosions and fighting, the pure destruction and death, the Heartless outbreak, and the new appearance of these silver creatures that are now being identified as 'Nobodies', are all from a single powerful terrorist known as XΙΙΙ. The Council claimed that he was an extremely powerful being, able to cause enormous levels of devastation, and was not to be dealt with. It was later discovered that a strike force had been assembled, compromised of Aqua, Kairi, and less known members, and that when they had returned, they were near death, with Kairi missing. She was found earlier today in a ditch, with severe lacerations, bones broken in multiple points, burns, concussions, scratches, and even more horrible things. The government has officially declared XΙΙΙ's presence to be a threat to national security, and have upgraded the quarantine, and are now bringing in Marines, Air force, Army, and other forces to hunt down and fight off the threat._

_July 2, 2012_

_The fight for Manhattan has turned into a bloodbath, with thousands of loyal American soldiers dying each day, while the Heartless and Nobodies continue to thrive. Yesterday they pushed against the boundaries, expanding past the Manhattan quarantine, gaining ground in Jersey City, Astoria, and Williamsburg, before forces were able to hold them off and reassemble the quarantine. XΙΙΙ was sighted once again as he made an enormous skyscraper suddenly appear out of nowhere, before broadcasting himself on national television, warning everyone to stay away. The Council of Light promised that they would remedy this problem, and gain back the lost ground, and avenge the lost lives. _

_December 21, 2012_

_With the fight for freedom still going on in Manhattan after all these months, mixed feelings are starting to surface. Many wish to give up and let XΙΙΙ have Manhattan, but more with to take up arms and free their fellow Americans behind the quarantine. Despite many specialized strike teams, and air strikes, XΙΙΙ is still alive and gives back double whatever is thrown at him. This monster, this Nobody, has ripped away so much, but now he has just brought us strength. And now he will have to deal with the best of us. A new project has been established by higher up government officials and the Council of Light, one that has brought even more forces home from overseas to fight XΙΙΙ. Of the forces is Dilan Lance, a respected Army Commander, Sergeant Terra Blade of the Marines, and General Claire Farron, or as she is more widely known, Lighting. With these well-known war heroes, it can only be a matter of time before XΙΙΙ is taken out and peace is once again restored. On another matter, a former member of the Council of Light, has mysteriously vanished after sneaking past enemy lines and into the quarantine. The council has put out a reward for any information on where he might be. He is a teenage boy with spikey brown hair, blue eyes, a tan, and _

I stopped reading when it got to the description of him. I didn't need to read anymore to know who he was, and the description they were giving would never do him justice. So, Sora had slipped past the quarantine. I'd have to send some Dusks to 'escort' him back to the mainland. I didn't want to see him, and I definitely didn't want to be near hm.

I closed my eyes, calling out to my soldiers, and felt the Nobodies pause in their actions. I sent a mental picture of Sora out, flinching at the memory, before telling them to find him and take him past the quarantine by any means necessary. Once I was done, I glanced back to the papers and sent a spark into them, burning the pieces to ash. I dusted my black gloves, before turning around and walking toward a wall. The Betwixt and Between responded to my actions, and a large archway suddenly appeared, leading into a room with a view of the city. I kept going, ignoring the large chair that appeared to comfort me, instead staring out the window at New York.

Building had fallen, skyscrapers were ugly, twisted skeletons of their former selves, and I could see smoke rising from various parts of the city. Infected and Heartless swarmed the streets, mingling with the piles of corpses and crashed cars. I stared down at them, no remorse or pity for what I had done. And besides, even if I did, what would anyone care? No one wanted me around anyways. I was just a Nobody, a terrorist; wasn't that what they called me? And they blamed me for the appearance of the Heartless, for the death. But I wasn't the one who had done it. I had been set up, not that they would believe me. The Nobodies were a different matter entirely though, I had made them to. I shook my head, forcing myself to concentrate, and looked back out the window. This is what the entire world would look like someday.

But I didn't care. I couldn't feel any emotions. I couldn't feel anything. I reached up to my chest, feeling the smooth material of my cloak slide back over my gloves and chest, allowing my fingers to roam. I felt the scar from where Xemnas had impaled me through my heart, but no movement burst from my chest, just slow breathing. No heartbeat. I took my hand away, cloth reweaving as I stepped forward, the glass melting away and steps forming as I walked away from the building, thousands of feet up. They would probably rejoice if I jumped, if I died. They had done it before. Why wouldn't it change?

A Creeper called to me, telling me of the arrival of new troops in the city, and I sighed. Time to begin again. Maybe this time though… A plan formed in my mind, and I smiled out of habit, an old part of me wishing to feel the actual joy of smiling, of happiness. But that had ended with the boy I had been, emotions had died with Roxas. I was just the Nobody, XΙΙΙ. I jumped from the steps, freefalling into the darkness, plummeting thousands of feet back to the ground. Time to welcome the new arrivals.

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**Odd way to start it off, yeah, but I have to get back into the groove of things. Please give me some time, I'll try and make the next chapter better, if you have any questions just ask. Enjoy and please comment!**


	2. Nobodies Beginning

**Disclaimer, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Yet.**

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Terra POV

Thirteen months. It had been Thirteen months since Ventus had gone missing. I barely noticed when the first month rolled by, things had been busy, and I had been on patrol constantly. By month two, I got a little homesick, wondering if everything was ok. None of the letters I sent got a reply. Most of them got resent. By the third month I was getting worried. No one responded to letters, emails, or texts. I had left home for the marines with a shaky relationship with my parents.

Only my brother, Ventus had supported me, telling me to do what I thought was best. Of course that was after all the crying. My baby brother was overly emotional, but that's what made him so great. He cared about people, and always helped out. That's why everybody loved him, it was why he had real friends, people he could count on.

We had always been close, helping each other with problems, messing around and pulling pranks. He could always count on me. He had been devastated by my choice, but had managed to put on a straight face and sent me off, telling me to come home safe. But then we were at four months, and I was starting to freak out. What had happened? Why wouldn't anyone answer me?

I was about to head home on leave, when something happened in New York. Our government said it was a super storm. Millions of people said terrorist attack. I just freaked out more. Ventus had been in New York, going to some kind of weird school for the gifted. I asked my superiors for a short leave, just to check back to see if my family was alright, but I was instantly shut down.

No one was going anywhere. Missions suddenly started shutting down, patrols were doubled, and we were suddenly put back in extreme training, getting up before the sun, and finally getting to sleep long after it had gone down. Months five and six rolled around with the same routine, only now news came out. Freaks called Heartless had suddenly appeared in the city, threatening to take over.

Some organization, some 'Council of Light' had stepped in earlier, showing off superpowers and weird sword weapons, helping to defeat the freaks. It had seemed like they were winning, more survivors of the Heartless attacks were showing up every day, maybe Ventus would be found and it would all be alright. But the month seven rolled in. New, more powerful freaks called Nobodies took over, beating the hell out of the Council.

The Council and the government then came forward, admitting that they had lied, and that the super storm had indeed been a terrorist attack, from the supernatural world of the Council. The terrorist had devastated the world, easily throwing back whatever was thrown at him and giving out death to whoever crossed his path. The Council had said one name, one word that somehow sent people into a state of fear whenever they heard it; XΙΙΙ.

XΙΙΙ devastated the reborn city, easily repelling the Council and the government. A huge quarantine went up, and suddenly every fighting force the nation had were converging on New York. I had almost been there, I had nearly gotten on a plane that would take me back to my brother, when Dilan, my squad's leader, and I had been pulled aside and put on another plane.

Flying towards an unknown destination with other soldiers, we were told how we had skills that were considered valuable, and had been reassigned into a strike team. When somebody asked what we were going to do about XΙΙΙ, we were shown a recording or him suddenly taking over the nations television feed, telling everyone to stay away. We were told we were going to destroy him, or die trying. And then there went months eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve.

Training was grueling, we were given tests that strained our physical and mental limits, we were constantly fed more and more information, and I took it all in. I had to get into New York, I had to get to my brother. I didn't care if I had to go rogue to do it, I just had to find him. And then one day, we were suddenly told our training was complete, and put on a plane. And then we were there.

I had been to New York before in December. The city had been beautiful, all lit up and snow covered. The hustle and bustle of the city made things feel unreal somehow, and the sights and smells were intoxicating.

But that was all gone. New York was a dark reflection of what it used to be. The streets were dark, corpses and the shadow freaks slinking around, broken cars blocked off streets, their drivers having long since perished. The skyscrapers had been gutted and twisted, collapsing into each other. Street lights flickered on and off everywhere, and black smoke rose to the sky, coming from many sources across the city.

Even the snow that fell blanketed the city seemed dark somehow, the wonder seemingly ripped out of it, leaving it cold and ugly. And then there was the wall. The government had managed to put up this huge wall, made up of steel and cement.

Manned turrets and spotlights stood at the top, looking for anything that moved, occasionally spotting a survivor and managing to coerce them to come to the soldiers. I had stood on top of the wall for a long time, looking out across the city. How was I supposed to find Ven in all of this? It would be nearly impossible.

The thought of losing Ven forever ate at me from the inside while I went with the rest of my squad for a debriefing with one of the leaders of the Council, some old guy named Eraqus. I had barley paid attention, only glancing up when someone else joined him, a girl in blue body armor with short cropped blue hair, and sea blue eyes. Aqua.

No way. She had smiled reassuringly around at all of us, before her eyes met mine, and her smile froze. For a split second, I saw a flicker of panic in her eyes. And the next second, she smoothed it all away, going back to smiling. Eraqus finished talking, ending with some witty remark, but all I could do was stare at Aqua.

We had known each other since we were little, and had actually started going out junior year, before she had had to leave for a private school she took classes for, the same school where Ventus went… She had barely changed. She still moved with inhuman grace, still held head high with courage and resolution; the only thing that had really changed was her hair. It used to curly down her back, a literal blue waterfall, shining in the light. I glanced back into those eyes, before looking back at her lips.

They had tasted good when we were going out, and I had never gotten enough. Why had we broken up again? I shook myself from my thoughts, standing up with the rest of the squad, only for someone to grab me from behind. I struggled for a second before I realized it was Aqua, and let her pull me away from my squad, throwing open a door and shoving me in.

I watched as she stalked in and slammed the door behind her, before going off on me, demanding to know why I was here. I just stated the obvious, saying that I was part of the new strike force, before Aqua interrupted me, ordering me to leave and never come back. I tried to talk to her, but she just kept screaming at me, before suddenly breaking down into sobs and falling to her knees.

I went over to her and cautiously gave her a hug, more confused than ever. What had just happened? Aqua finally managed to get herself back under control, telling me that I couldn't be here and that she would talk to me later. She hugged me back, before leaping out of my embrace and heading out the door. I had no clue what the hell had just happened.

A few hours later, my squad and I were being shipped off for our first mission into the city. We were heading for our ride, when Aqua suddenly appeared again, pulling me out of sight, trying to talk me out of going. I got fed up at that point, demanding to know why I couldn't go in there, saying I had to find Ventus. Aqua seemed confused for a second, before she looked up at me, asking me what I knew about Ventus, and if I had really paid attention to the weird shit that sometimes happed around him.

Objects moving on their own when he got angry, light appearing when he was scared. It took me way longer than I should have to figure it out. Ventus was one of them. Aqua saw that I had finally put the pieces together, explaining that the school was a training facility to allow the gifted to grow and use their powers for 'the betterment of mankind', and that she had been with them since she was nine, and had cared for Ventus when he had entered the program.

But a few months ago, XΙΙΙ and some other terrorist, Vanitas, had kidnapped Ventus. The news made my heart freeze. The world's most dangerous terrorist had kidnapped my brother. I had turned, storming towards my squad. I would get into the city, I would find XΙΙΙ, and I would rip him apart piece by piece until he told me where Ventus was. I couldn't lose my brother.

I had worked hard to help him be everything I couldn't, to make sure that he actually had a future, unlike me. He was always there for me, and I always had his back, no matter what. Aqua managed to pull me back, telling me not to take on XΙΙΙ, that it was too dangerous, and even the Council couldn't do it, nearly coming to tears again trying to convince me to not go near him.

She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight, and I hugged back. Before I knew what I was saying, I was promising her that I would stay away from XΙΙΙ. I gave her a squeeze, whispering that I missed her, before she pulled away, smiling and telling me to get going. And now I was here, rumbling around in a high speed tank with the rest of my crew.

We were just doing a scouting mission, just trying to map the new boundaries of the "Betwixt and Between", some crazy building that teleported randomly around the city. Most of my squad was just talking between themselves, boasting about how many Heartless and Nobodies they were going to kill. I just stared straight ahead, faced forward, watching as our tank's autopilot guided us on our route. The tank had been built light, made for speed not durability.

Speed was more essential in these scout missions, especially when we had to get out and explore on our own. So far nothing had shown up on any of the monitors, only the skeletal remains of cars, and the grisly remains of thousands of rotting corpses. I tried ignoring the sight, pushing down the thought that one of those corpses could be Ventus. He was alive, and I would find him.

"Yo Terra, you got a light?" One of the other men asked, holding out a cigarette. I shook my head, leaning back and rubbing the butt of my gun, trying to get rid of an invisible blemish. The man shrugged his shoulders, and turned to another man to ask as the tank swerved, barreling around a corner. One of the other men started bickering with the smoker while I kept on rubbing.

A loud, persistent beeping from the autopilot silenced everyone, as the tank jerked to a complete stop, and all of our eyes snapped to the screens. "Enemy contact imminent, offensive maneuvers suggested." The computer said "Relaying instructions from Fortress." Fortress; the _genius_ codename for the combined armed forces. Honestly, who came up with this stuff?

A few seconds went by before the radio buzzed to life and a voice said "Runner Three-Three this is Fortress, offensive maneuvers approved." The tank was instantly full of motion, as the other rushed around, prepping the tank. I stayed frozen in my seat, feeling something tugging at my gut, telling me to stay down. "Fire!" a man shouted, and there was a loud boom.

The men cheered, and for a split second, I smiled. And then the screens all flickered red, saying "Warning: Danger." Something collided with the tank, and we were air born. We slammed around as the tank flew through the air, before my head slammed against the ceiling and everything went black. It was the cold that brought me back. It clawed its way through my gear, its freezing fingers managing to make my eyes flutter open.

I stared up at the dark sky, watching as snow silently fell, ice cold kisses freezing my skin every time they touched. I tried to remember where I was, and how I had gotten here. Slowly the memories of everything came back, and I remembered the tank being attacked. I managed to sit up and look around, trying to catch my bearings.

Somehow I had appeared in a dark alley, but lights flickered from the street, giving me some light. I pushed myself to my feet, wobbling dangerously, glancing around for my gun. It was nowhere in sight. I groaned, reaching into my belt and pulling out my combat knife. I knew it wouldn't do me much good here. Our training had shown us just how dangerous those freaks were when you had a gun. It didn't take an idiot to realize that a knife wouldn't help you last long out here.

A radio buzzed from my chest, and I heard the same voice who had told us to attack. "Three-Three, what is the status as your squad?" I grabbed around my chest, trying to figure out how to get to the stupid radio, while the voice continued saying "Runner Three-Three, this is Fortress, radio check."

I found the button at the same time as a strange howl went off somewhere in the darkness. I froze, eyes tracking the shadows, waiting for any sign of movement. My radio crackled again, and the voice called out "Runner Three-Three, do you need cas-evac?" I pushed on the radio, quietly saying "Fortress, this is Runner Three-Three."

The radio crackled back as the voice gave out a relieved sigh. "Copy, Three-Three. What is the status of your squad?" I glanced around again, finally noticing the smoke and small fires that had popped up on the other side of the alley.

"Verifying" I stated, carefully making my way towards the fires. I got to the alley, and stared in shock and disgust at the sight in front of me. Our tanks had been cut in half. A single, glowing line ran straight through the tank, and the two pieces had fallen away. One of my squad members had suffered the same fate, one was crushed under half of the tank, while another had only lost one of his arms. Still dead though.

I glanced around, watching the street be illuminated by the fires. A large bus blocked the other side of the street, while building rubble crushed ruined cars. Whatever had cut the tank in half and also started several smaller fires around, illuminating the bodies of my comrades. No one was moving. I managed to count them out, before realizing that one was missing. Maybe someone else had survived.

I tried heading out into the street, but I ended up stumbling back up into the alley, struggling to support myself against the wall. I growled at my weakness, and was forcing myself back up, when a flash of movement caught my eyes. I whipped around, watching the dark sky and something small flew through the air, before slamming into the ground near the bus.

The impact cracked the ground, and an invisible force knocked me off my feet. I rolled around, trying to get up, trying to defend myself, and looked back towards the newcomer. I felt my breath hitch, and my heart stopped for a second, as they stood up. It was a figure, wrapped up in a pitch black cloak, there face hidden under a hood.

They stood up straight, (suddenly making me realize just how short they were) carefully dusting off their coat, before they turned, slowly walking towards the remnants of my squad. "XΙΙΙ" I growled. The radio crackled back to life, and I realized I had been holding it down. "XΙΙΙ!? Oh crap, Council, we've got XΙΙΙ in RZ grid two-three. Repeat, XΙΙΙ is in RZ grid two-three, we are awaiting your command."

I stopped paying attention to what they were saying as XΙΙΙ arrived at the remnants of my tank. They gripped one half of the tank, throwing it to the side, and leaning down to examine the newest corpses to the New York Massacre. The tank flew through the air and into the alley with me, flying above me and smashing into the wall, before crashing to the ground in an explosion of sparks. I was supposed to beat that?

How the hell was I supposed to be them? They had just thrown away half a tank as though it weighed less than a golf ball. I growled, the image of Ventus' face burning into my mind. It didn't matter how stupid this was. I would get my brother back. XΙΙΙ wasn't invincible, I would take them down.

My radio came back, and a new voice joined the other. "Runner Three-Three, this is the Council of Light, we are sending reinforcements to your position. Do not pursue XΙΙΙ. Repeat." They didn't want me going after the terrorist who had taken my brother. To hell with them.

"Council be advised. I don't fight for you freaks." I turned off the radio, squeezed my knife, and rushed forward. The new fallen snow didn't make a sound as I came at them, but at the last second I shouted a war cry. I kicked XΙΙΙ in the back, sending them to the ground, before squatting on their back and stabbing my blade into their arm.

I wanted to make a point that I wasn't messing around here. But the blade just scrapped against the material they were wearing, not even making a scratch. XΙΙΙ slammed their shoulders back, and an invisible force blasted me off of them, slamming me up against a store front. I fell to the ground, dropping my knife beside me, and groaned, pain coursing through me. That definitely had not gone as well as I had hoped.

I heard XΙΙΙ's footsteps as they approached until they were standing over me. I managed to twist myself and glared up at them, trying to see what lied underneath their hood. The flickering light managed to show off slender features, and pale white skin could be seen even in the shadows. The shook their head in disappointment, before walking way, heading for the bus.

They were getting away. The only person aside of whoever Vanitas was, was getting away. My only chance of finding Ventus was quickly vanishing. I forced myself back up, grabbing my knife back up, and rushed down the street after them, determined to get a result this time. They started turning as I got close, and threw a punch at me. I ducked under there arm, smashing my fist into their kidneys. They doubled over, and I slammed my elbow into their back, sending them to their knees.

I pulled my knife to their throats, growling "Now we're going to talk _freak_." The last syllable hadn't even left my mouth yet when they twisted with inhuman speed, and slammed their hands against my chest. It felt like I got hit by a truck.

I flew through the air again, before finally skidding to a stop, almost all the way back to the alley now. I groaned, managing to ignore the new pain in my chest and sitting up, looking around for XΙΙΙ. A screech of metal came from the bus, and I turned back, finding XΙΙΙ standing on its roof, looking back at me, arms crossed.

"That all you got?" They asked. Something inside me clenched as I heard there voice. It sounded different from the threats I had seen on TV, they sounded young and cold. Their voice was wrong, something about it was wrong, that voice was supposed to come from someplace else, from _someone_ else. But who?

I focused back on XΙΙΙ and ran over to the bus, throwing myself at its roof managing to pull myself up as XΙΙΙ hopped off. I started after him, jumping to the edge of the bus.

A loud screech came from below me, and suddenly round black creatures, with glowing yellow eyes and oversize wings flew up from the shadows in front of me, taking off into the dark sky. Heartless. I glanced around, suddenly taking in the graffiti; pictures of skulls, Heartless and Nobodies, and hundreds of symbols, all meaning 13.

And the red line, far too dark to be paint up ahead; a line drawn in blood. A barrier from the outside world. This was the dead zone, this was XΙΙΙ's territory. I glanced around, finally seeing a huge skyscraper that hadn't been there five minutes ago.

It was like some crazy collage of everything. A lighthouse acted as some kind of small tower, while an actual battle ship loomed high above the city, casting a deadly shadow below. A forest of dead trees protected the bottom, and a grey castle made up most of the top, its tall pale spires threatening to rip a hole in the sky. So XΙΙΙ had come here.

I watched as they turned around, waiting next to some rubble, almost expectantly, like they didn't think I would cross the line. "What!" I shouted "You think I won't follow you in there!?" I leapt off the top of the bus, and ran after them. XΙΙΙ just turned back around, walking ahead casually. He was playing with me, like a cat plays with a mouse. Only this mouse had teeth.

XΙΙΙ was suddenly obscured by more rubble, and I froze when I heard a terrified scream come from up ahead. I ran as fast as I could, my already sore muscles complaining at the task. I barreled around the rubble, only to see XΙΙΙ just a couple feet away, standing next to the entrance to a lighted alley. They were looking down at someone, someone who was lying on their belly, hand outstretched, wearing the same uniform as me. The other survivor.

"Please help me! They'll be back, please, you have to help me!" XΙΙΙ glanced back to me, before turning and going on. I growled, heading to do a quick check of the man before I continued my pursuit. I hadn't made it three feet before the shadows in front of the man suddenly took form, a pitch a well-muscled humanoid form with dark antennae, miniature wings, large claws and glowing yellow eyes appearing. A Heartless.

The man screamed as it grabbed him, throwing him into the darkness of the alley, and rushing after him. I ran away from the alley, aiming back towards XΙΙΙ. I couldn't deal with this, and I couldn't save the man. By the sound of his screams, he was a goner anyways. XΙΙΙ suddenly broke into a run, heading for one of the ruined buildings.

"Don't you run from me you coward!" I screamed after him. I was hallway there when the sound of machinery ripped through the air. I turned around, watching as a helicopter appeared over the top of some buildings, heading towards me. It spotlight kicked on, quickly finding me as the helicopter raced ahead, before turning back and next to the building, spotlight trained on me.

A speaker went on, and the pilot shouted "Sergeant Blade, you are trespassing on Council property, you are to hold your position. A personnel carrier is inbound to-" That was as far as he got. XΙΙΙ suddenly came shooting out of the windows, a black blur, leg outstretched.

Their foot collided with the tail of the chopper with a small explosion, and the chopper went spinning out of control, heading straight for me. Adrenaline took over, and I ran forward, diving to the ground as the helicopter flew over me, spinning blades missing by just a few feet, smashing to the ground before crashing into a wall. I was just standing up when it finally exploded in a massive fireball, sending me back to the ground.

I heard a loud crunch behind me, and turned around to see the XΙΙΙ had landed on top of one of the dead cars. I forced myself back up, my body aching and crying as I did, and glared at XΙΙΙ. "You done XΙΙΙ running?" I demanded, taking a shaky step forward.

My knife nearly dropped from my grasp as pain erupted through me. This guy was kicking my ass, and he had only hit me twice. Granted both time had felt like he had slammed and elephant into me, but still. XΙΙΙ's shoulders slumped, and somehow I knew they were… disappointed? What the hell was up with this?

They nodded their head once, and I clenched my knife, ready to try and end this. An earthshattering roar erupted from behind me, following by something beside me literally shattering the earth, and I whirled around. Another Heartless had appeared, but this was like no other I had ever seen. The thing was huge, pitch black, with a heart shaped hole in its chest, miniature wings sprouting from its back, glowing yellow eyes lacking of irises.

More of the flying Heartless I had seen back at the bus circled around its heads, screeching and squawking. I stared at it, taking an involuntary step back as it withdrew its fist from the newly made crater, its immense bulk shifting towards me. I was supposed to kill something like that? It was huge, nearly four and a half stories tall, all muscle. How had the thing snuck up on me?

It slammed one its arm down, and started stalking forward, its gigantic arm acting as some sort of bulldozer. Anything in its path was either crushed, or overtaken by shadow. I did the only think any sane person would do in this situation. I whipped around and started running, vaulting over cars, going as fast as I could. I had come this far, I was not going to get crushed by some oversize freak. I pushed myself to go faster and faster, my hair whipping around as I ran, the Heartless getting closer and closer.

I was feeling myself start to slow down, exhaustion finally starting to take its toll, when I saw a ruined building. The windows had been shattered, and the door had been ripped off its hinges. I pushed myself one last time, throwing myself through the door as the giant Heartless barreled past, apparently not noticing my escape. I sighed in relief, letting myself fall to the floor, my knife falling out of my grasp. I was running on nothing more than rage and adrenaline at this point. My body hurt all over, and all I wanted to do was close my eyes.

I had to battle with myself to get back up, taking long, deep breaths, until I felt like I was back under control. I grabbed my knife and shakily got back up to my feet. I would take tonight slow, find someplace where the Heartless wouldn't find me until I had my strength back. And then I would got and find wherever XΙΙΙ was hiding. He had vanished as soon as the Heartless had appeared, leaving me alone once again out here.

A howl and a crash came from behind me, and I turned around in time for the same creature that had killed the survivor to tackle me. The force sent us both flying through the empty windows, before slamming us to the ground. Pure instinct and adrenaline took over, and my knife was suddenly in the freaks neck, its own crashing momentum pushing the blade even deeper in. It screamed as I pulled my knife out, frantically stabbing it over and over again.

Tar like blood dripped from its wounds, until finally it collapsed on top of me. I struggled to push its heavy bulk off, before finally pushing it to the side. The moment it hit the ground, its whole body dissolved into black liquid, vanishing in the shadows. I stared at the spot where it had been for a long time, before finally getting back up.

"Nice." I jumped, heart beating faster and faster, whipping around. XΙΙΙ stood just a few feet away, staring up at me. I growled, and spun my knife in my hand, before rushing forwards. In hindsight, I have no clue why I did that. I was being a total moron, just running up to someone who could blow me up just by looking at me. But I wasn't thinking about that.

I wasn't really thinking at all. The exhaustion and adrenaline had shut down my brain, the only things left being survival, XΙΙΙ, and Ventus. XΙΙΙ just raised his hand, and the invisible force returned, lifting me off the ground and slamming me into a wall. I fell to the ground, and started forcing myself back up, but their hand twitched forward, and I was slammed back against the wall. I tried again, and got the same result. This time the force stayed there, pushing harder and harder, until I felt something in my chest snap, and cried out in pain.

"Stop getting up. I won. I'm giving you your life. Take it before I decide I want it back." XΙΙΙ turned and started walking away, not even slowing as a black void suddenly tore open the air ahead of him, dark tendrils reaching out. No, I couldn't let him get away. Ignoring my pain, I made one last ditch effort, launching myself forward and grabbing the figure by the hood, and yanking hard.

The hood came off, revealing spiky dark golden blonde hair, and as they whipped around, I came face to face with blue eyes. It couldn't be, but it was. That was why the voice was wrong. How had I not known? How could I have not recognized the person I cared about so much; Ventus.

Ventus scowled at me, before slamming his hand forward. I was blasted back to the wall, held high while Ventus walked towards me. "Can't you get it through your thick skull you moron? You lost. Now get out of here." He let me drop, and was turning around when I finally managed to speak.

"Ventus? Is that you?" Those four words got more of a response than anything else I had done tonight. Ventus stiffened, before turning back to me, eyes suddenly curious. I was staring into those eyes, when I realized that this wasn't Ven.

They were to pale, the hair was wrong, and the eyes… Ventus' eyes were bright and light, he was an open book. Everything was out in the open, he was never ashamed of who he was. These eyes were cold, dark, and almost dead. They seemed ancient, and out of place on a face so young. Those eyes had seen things beyond all imagination, they had seen into the darkness. There was no open book here, there was just an impenetrable wall.

"How do you know Ventus?" They whispered, cautiously taking a step closer. "He's my brother. Now give him back XΙΙΙ. I know you and Vanitas took him. I don't care what you want, just give me my brother back."

The not-Ventus stared into my eyes, searching for something, before his face settled into an emotionless façade. "Who told you this exactly?" He asked. "The Council. Now give me my brother back damn it!" The boy ignored my demands, instead asking "And you believed them? Just like that?"

"Give me my brother back you bastard! You don't get my brother, you freak!" A cold look passed behind those barred eyes, before the boy let out a humorless laugh. "Freak really? We went from fun game to pathetic name calling. This is just sad. What's your name?" I growled, wanting to beat the boy to a pulp, but my body didn't obey. I was too tired. I'd have to talk this one out.

"Terra. Now give me back my fucking brother your monster!" The boy raised his eyebrows, before squatting down in front of me, a dead smile on his face. "Me, a monster? Oh the Council really is screwing people up nowadays, aren't they? I'm not the monster, Terra." I laughed in his face. "Really? So you didn't go around here and kill everybody, you didn't try and kill me, you didn't bring out the Heartless and the Nobodies, you didn't kidnap my brother, huh? It's all just some big understanding right? They're the good guys, you're the one who's trying to kill us."

The boy rolled his eyes. "I didn't kill them, the Heartless and Nobodies did, and no I didn't bring them out, or kidnap your brother. And I tried to kill you, because you fired at me, and then tried to stab and beat me. No, I'm a monster, I'm just not the monster that did this. I'm not the one lying to you, lying to the nation. You don't even know what happened to Ventus, do you? You don't know what the Council did? And you're siding with them. Typical. But what to do with you? I don't care if you are related to Ven, I can't have you running around here. Maybe…"

The boy stood up, turning around, keeping his back to me. I froze, glancing to my side where my knife was. One last chance. I managed to make my tired arm grab the knife, and waited until the boy started turning around before throwing the knife at his head. I might not be able to kill him, but I might be able to stun him long enough to get the upper hand somehow.

The knife spiraled through the air, heading straight towards the boys head, until it suddenly stopped mid-turn, hanging in the air. The boy looked at it with surprise, then back to the knife, then back to me, before the knife suddenly snapped through air, embedding itself to the bottom of the hilt in the wall. "You still haven't given up?" The boy asked.

"Give me my brother XΙΙΙ." I managed to demand, before falling back up against the wall. I saw the boy staring at me hard out of the corner of my eye, before a gloved hand grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "How about a deal Terra. I'll… help you out, and help you find Ventus and Vanitas. But you have to see things from _my_ perspective, the real perspective. You'll have to help me, and I'll have to help you. Do we have a deal?"

I had no idea what the hell he meant, but he was suddenly willing to keep me alive, and help me get my brother. I may not know what was going on, but I didn't care as long as I got the prize. I managed to nod my head, and the boy nodded. "You're not strong enough to do anything worth doing now. I guess I'll have to help you get started."

The boy snapped his hands into the air, and two of the sword things appeared in his hands. One appeared in a flash of light, a white weapon literally radiating color, while the other appeared in a crackled of smoke and lightning, an ebony blade that seemed to suck the life out of the air around it, leaving it black and white.

Before I really could understand anything else, the invisible force was pulling me into a standing position in front of the boy. "This is going to hurt. But you'll thank me later." The next thing I knew, the black blade was suddenly sticking out of my stomach, impaling me to the wall. I struggled, gasping as pain coursed through me, trying to comprehend the situation. The boy took my other hand, and carefully guided it around the handle of the white blade. It glowed brightly for a moment, and the boy smiled brightly, but no real emotion shined out from him.

He banished the white blade and pulled the black one out saying "Let's see if it worked. I fell to the ground, struggling to breathe while the pain inside me ripped me apart. And then the pain started going away. I managed to look down at the hole the boy had just put in my chest, and watched in wonder as green sparks flowed across my skin, mending the skin, and alleviating the pain. And then my world started to go black.

The boy frowned, stepping forward and pulling my head up again so I could look at him. "You're going to pass out here in a second, the power took everything you had left. I'll signal you're so called 'good guys' and you can be the judge of who is good, and who is bad. I'll pick you up later." He let my head drop, turning away and heading towards the black void in the air again.

He snapped his fingers towards the sky, and a red flare shot into the air, alerting the city of my need for help. The boy was standing next to the void, when he suddenly turned back, opening his mouth like he wanted to say something.

He stared at me for a moment, and I saw his lips move, and heard "… Not XΙΙΙ… Call me… Xas." And then the moment was gone, and so were both him and the void. I laid against the wall, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened and what I had done, while lights started approaching, signaling my rescue. I had no idea what was happening.

But I knew that I had just gotten the most feared terrorist of the world to make some kind of deal with me. A deal to help me find my brother. And nothing was going to stop me from finding him now.

* * *

**Hey, so sorry about the wait, hope you don't hate me, or the story. I kind of have only half a plan for how the story goes, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to the next chapter. Hope it's not too horrible, good morning/afternoon/night. It's one in the morning here, so I'm gonna drop now. Night! **


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